Page 60 of Highland Crown
Other than Maisie and Morrigan, Isabella had no other family. At least none she had any connection with. When Thomas Murray left Scotland years ago, her father closed all the doors to his past. Many times, she tried to bring it up in discussion, hoping there would be aunts and uncles and cousins, but he offered no clue, no connections that she could seek. Isabella didn’t even know where to look, if she ever decided to search for them. And in Archibald’s family, the Drummonds were hisand Morrigan’s relations only. Isabella understood that as his second wife, she held no interest in their eyes. During her marriage, she and Archibald never traveled to Perth, where his family was from, and no one ever came to Edinburgh to visit.
She ran her fingers along the handle of a broadsword mounted on the wall. The weapon was longer than she was tall.
Isabella tried to tell herself it didn’t matter that she had no one. She was an independent woman. She had a profession that she could put to use once she arrived in Canada, or wherever they could find a safe haven. An extended family could be both a blessing and a curse. She recalled Cinaed’s resentment about how he’d been treated by his kin.
She lifted a smaller sword from the wall. “I’d like to learn how to use one of these.”
“A backsword? I can teach you.”
A welcome tingle ran along her spine as she realized he stood close behind her. Very close, she corrected, feeling the touch of his lips trailing down the sensitive skin of her neck before settling just below her ear.
“Here? In this room?”
Isabella’s voice sounded husky and strange, even to her own ear. She guessed neither of them was thinking any longer about training with swords. She was caught in a breathless wave of sensation as his hands slid across her waist and over the curve of her stomach.
“This already has the makings of the fondest memory I’ll ever have of my clan.” He tasted the skin of her neck and pulled her closer.
As her buttocks pressed against his groin, she knewhe was as affected as she. Isabella felt herself melting. Her breasts ached for his touch. She’d heard women talk about lusting for a man, but she’d never experienced it. At this moment, however, the desire to have Cinaed inside her suddenly defined the word for her.
“Shall we create a memory?”
She couldn’t bring herself to speak, so instead she turned in his arms. Her mouth sought his, and he responded with a kiss that lit a fever within her. Like a butterfly seeking the flame, she threw herself into his warmth even as she risked the scorching heat.
He was the tutor, and she willingly followed his every step. Cinaed’s hands squeezed her bottom, drawing her tight against him. Isabella leaned into him, crushing her breasts against his chest. His kiss was a lashing assault of lips and tongue, and she knew exactly what she wanted from him. There was no hesitation on her part. She heard herself moan deep in her throat, and her arms slipped around his neck. Their mouths melded into one.
A man’s voice in the hallway startled her, and she pushed away. Detaching herself, Isabella backed away until she collided with a large table covered with swords and daggers.
“Find Captain Mackintosh,” the voice called out. “Go and find himnow.”
Isabella moved around the table as she straightened her dress and tucked in loose tendrils of hair that had escaped their confines. Her lips were numb. Her fingers trembled and searched for a place to come to rest.
“We could be making love there on that bench, and anyone coming into this room would apologize and leave us. We are married, don’t forget.”
She glanced at the bench, envisioning the two of them together right now. She needed more than a table between herself and Cinaed. She had no willpower against this man’s charms.
“What do you say, Isabella?”
How she wished she were brave enough to succumb to a temptation like that at least once in her life.
“We can say we’re married to fool other people, but we’re not,” she asserted, daring herself to look his way.
“Of course, we are. We’re in Scotland. We need no clergyman to be married.”
He saw every temptation and every hesitation in her face. He was the first man who’d ever really looked at her. The only man who’d ever trulyseenher.
“A couple is legally married here if the two declare themselves to be married in front of others.” His voice was a caress of temptation. “We have more than a dozen witnesses, in this house alone, who will swear to our marriage.”
He was no longer teasing. She could see it in his expression, in his eyes. It was thrilling and yet terrifying. Isabella thought of how briefly she’d known him, and of the turbulent and unknown road that lay ahead. She also thought of her first marriage. Archibald had been a familiar face in her father’s circle of scholars and friends. She’d known him and worked with him. They’d developed a comfortable and cordial rapport months before her father’s death. Afterward, Archibald’s proposal had been a reasonable solution to her troubles. In accepting it, she’d thought her future was secure. She’d been wrong.
Marriage was no longer the only answer for her. She needed to find her own path, her own future. The desireshe felt for Cinaed, the way she’d come to care for him, had nothing to do with his offer of protection. A husband’s role was to cherish and protect. She didn’t want to burden him with her life. She wished they could come together, free of their troubles… as a man and a woman.
“I suppose I should have gotten down on my knee and proposed properly, since that is the gentlemanly thing to do where you come from.”
“Please, let’s not talk about this now.” Isabella tore her gaze from him and glanced toward the door. She could hear voices approaching again. “You said there was a change in the dinner arrangements.”
A knock stopped Cinaed from answering. His expression told her they were not done with the discussion of marriage. He went to the door and opened it.
One of Searc’s men stood outside. “They’re ready for you, Captain.”
